Cargill, Belgian Firms to Build Biodiesel Plant
Date: 30-Jan-06
Country: NETHERLANDS
The three companies will invest 25 million euros ($30 million) in the biodiesel plant and another 37 million euros in a new vegetable oil refinery which will have an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes, they said in a joint statement.
Renewable energy firm Bioro and Vanden Avenne Izegem, which trades and distributes agricultural raw materials, are Cargill's Belgian partners in the project. "Cargill have made some important investments in biodiesel production in Europe and plan further expansion as a response to rising demand," the statement said.
"Cargill have decided to invest in Gent as a result of the Belgian government's decision to promote biodiesel," it said.
High crude oil prices have made biodiesel produced from vegetable oils even more attractive in Europe, where tax incentives in some countries have already stimulated eco-friendly, green fuels.
The companies said they will also convert an existing soybean processing facility at Gent into a rapeseed plant with a capacity of one million tonnes a year.
Rapeseed oil is the product most used by Europe's biodiesel industry because of its availability and higher quality.
The EU has seen an unprecedented rise in biodiesel capacity in the past three years -- mainly in Germany and France -- as governments promote green fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and crude oil bills.
Industry publication Oil World put EU's biodiesel production capacity at 3.75 million tonnes at the end of last year, up by 900,000 tonnes from the previous year. The capacity is seen rising to 4.5 million tonnes this year and 5.3 million in 2007.
